Working at Writers House
Student staff are central to Writers House operations. Students manage our website, engineer and edit recordings, design fliers and posters, develop literacy outreach projects, and help with all aspects of our programming. Writers House hires most of its student staff in the summer, through the work study program, where jobs are posted officially. See below for the kinds of positions that are often available. And please contact our staff manager Alli Katz (katza@writing.upenn.edu) for more information about student jobs at Writers House. All full time positions at Writers House are posted through Penn’s central HR site and will also be listed here when available.
Sample Work Study Opportunities
Administrative Assistant
Work with the Director and Financial Coordinator of the Kelly Writers House to learn what it takes to run a not-for-profit arts organization. The Administrative Assistant will help with special research and archival projects, updating our featured visitors database, filing financial paperwork, and other duties as needed. Requires confidentiality and interest in not-for-profit arts organizations. All Writers House work-study staff positions also include involvement and assistance with Writers House programs and projects as needed, including running errands, welcoming visitors and additional duties.
Assistant to the Assistant to the Director
Working directly with Sophia DuRose, assistant to KWH Faculty Director Al Filreis, on a wide variety of tasks changing weekly, from development and administrative support to research projects about visiting writers in the Fellows program. In the Spring semester you will be working extensively on preparations for the Fellows events which are some of the most highly-attended KWH events every year. Looking for someone comfortable changing gears often with strong e-mail communication skills (as you will likely be working on projects while Sophia is not in the office), who doesn’t mind a little bit of data entry and database work mixed in with more fun and exciting projects. Familiarity with Excel will be helpful, otherwise, Sophia will train you in everything you need to know. Good choice for people interested in nonprofit administration who want to try a little bit of everything around the KWH, including program assistant (general staff) tasks. All Writers House work-study staff positions also include involvement and assistance with Writers House programs and projects as needed, including running errands, welcoming visitors and additional duties.
Editorial Assistant
Editorial assistants for Jacket2 (jacket2.org), the online poetry and poetics journal based at the Kelly Writers House, copyedit and proofread accepted submissions, manage art acquisition, assist with image design, and work with website content. Editorial experience helpful, but not required (we'll train you) as long as you love working with language and images and want to learn more about publishing. All Writers House work-study staff positions also include involvement and assistance with Writers House programs and projects as needed, including running errands, welcoming visitors and additional duties.
Program Assistant
Program assistants are the core of the KWH student staff. Help with the set-up and execution of afternoon and evening programs. This can include: reception assistance, greeting guests, setting-up the Arts Cafe, selling books, taking pictures, restocking KWH materials, shopping trips to grocery stores, etc. Works closely with the Program Coordinator and Assistant Program Coordinator. All Writers House work-study staff positions also include involvement and assistance with Writers House programs and projects as needed, including running errands, welcoming visitors and additional duties.
Purchasing Librarian
Purchasing Librarians order books through distributors and publishing companies, sell books at events, track shipments and returns, and monitor accounting for book orders. Librarians also log and store Writers House copies of visiting writers’ books and organize the KWH visiting writers library. All Writers House work-study staff positions also include involvement and assistance with Writers House programs and projects as needed, including running errands, welcoming visitors and additional duties.
Web Team
Craft and update the Kelly Writers House website! Looking for someone detail and design oriented, highly motivated and technologically adventurous. Primary responsibilities of the position include: back-end maintenance and updating the existing site (writing.upenn.edu/wh). There’s additional design work available for those with interest. Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and HTML/CSS is helpful, but not required. We'll train you! All Writers House work-study staff positions also include involvement and assistance with Writers House programs and projects as needed, including running errands, welcoming visitors and additional duties.
Media Assistant
Work with the Digital Projects Manager to assist in audio/video production at the Kelly Writers House. Come be a part of the Kelly Writers House's media team! This is an audio/video position which includes: setting up audio/video equipment in both our live performance space and our recording studio; recording, editing, and mastering audio/video; working with broadcast audio/video; and uploading, linking, and otherwise archiving recordings. Media staff will learn the ins-and-outs of industry-standard software such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Audition (no prior experience necessary). Fast learners and/or those interested in AV production are especially encouraged to apply!